The excitement of team golf is in the air these days, especially after Team Europe’s recent win at the Solheim Cup at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio.
Next up? The 43rd Ryder Cup will feature a team of 12 men’s players from the United States taking on a team of 12 from Europe, Sept. 24-26, at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Golfweek caught up with American Ryder Cup stalwart Jim Furyk, who will appear in his 11th event later this month, this time as a vice captain for Steve Stricker’s squad.
Furyk, a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour, dished on Whistling Straits as a host course and why he thinks its better as a match play venue than stroke play. He also expanded on his favorite Ryder Cup memories, most notably the wins.
“When these Ryder Cups are over for me when I’m no longer a vice captain … I’ll miss the camaraderie of the team and having everyone in the team room,” said Furyk.
Pampling shot a final-round 66 and then waited for more than an hour for his pursuers to come in.
Rod Pampling posted a final-round 66 at the PGA Tour Champions Boeing Classic Sunday, and then watched and waited.
He finished a little more than an hour before the final groups came in. He hung around the scoring area, watching the coverage on TV. When Jim Furyk tied him atop the leaderboard at 12 under, Pampling made his way over to the driving range for a bit to hit some golf balls, just in case there was a playoff.
Pampling, 51, was back in front of a TV when Furyk’s par attempt burned the edge of the cup on the par-3 17th hole. That put Pampling back in front by a shot.
Woody Austin was also in the hunt and he teed off on 18 a shot back, tied with Furyk, but Austin’s second shot went into a deep greenside bunker and he needed two swings to get out.
Furyk was also in a greenside bunker on 18 and he blasted out well past the hole, but he did have about a 25-footer for birdie that would’ve forced a playoff but his putt was just wide left, making Pampling a first-time winner on the Champions tour.
“There is so much pressure getting that first win,” he told Golf Channel moments after he clinched the win. “It’s great. Getting to Hawaii next year was one of my goals. I”m looking forward to trying to get the Schwab Cup now.”
Pampling has now won on three PGA Tour circuits: he has three Tour wins, one Korn Ferry Tour victory and now his first Champions tour win.
Montgomerie’s memories of Valderrama are fonder than Furyk’s, for certain.
A fine bogey-free afternoon of golf in the Pacific Northwest had Colin Montgomerie waxing poetic about playing partner and former Ryder Cup adversary Jim Furyk after the second round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Boeing Classic.
After posting a 67 on Saturday, Montgomerie sat a single stroke behind leader Woody Austin and tied for second with Furyk, someone he’s appreciated for decades.
“I enjoyed playing with Jim Furyk, I must admit. A gentleman and someone I’ve admired for many, many years since we first came across Jim in ’97 at Valderrama at the Ryder Cup and I’ve always admired his game and it’s great to play with him here in America,” Montgomerie said.
“I look forward to (the final round) really. I’m going to play with Jim again, I believe, so yeah, I enjoy playing with him and Fluff — lovely fellow. We’ve gotten on for many years.”
Montgomerie’s memories of Valderrama—where the Europeans edged the Americans, 14½ to 13½, to retain the Ryder Cup—are fonder than Furyk’s, for certain. In fact, Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer defeated Furyk and Lee Janzen in the afternoon foursome on Saturday, a pivotal point for the Europeans. Montgomerie had previously teamed with Langer on Friday to down Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara, 5 and 3, in a statement victory.
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Furyk, meanwhile, only managed a single point in his three opportunities, winning a singles match against Nick Faldo 3 and 2 on Sunday.
As for the final round of play at the Boeing, Montgomerie would love to snap a drought that stretches back to 2019 when he captured the Champions’ Invesco QQQ Championship in a playoff over Langer.
When asked if he’d forgotten how to win, the 31-time European Tour champ said he plans on digging deep in his memory.
“Let’s hope not, eh? Let’s hope not. If I don’t win tomorrow, I’ll have forgotten how to do it, how’s that, you know? But what the hell, it’s great to come here, a long way from home, you know, from London,” he said. “We flew over here on Tuesday to Seattle direct and long way, so I’m glad I’m making a run anyway and I look forward to (Sunday).”
And as for picking out a target, a specific player he thinks he’ll have to beat? Montgomerie said Furyk is that person.
“Jim’s the guy. Jim’s very, very steady and doesn’t do anything wrong,” Montgomerie said. “He’s the guy to beat, but if I can hole out, I have a chance.”
Furyk now has three wins since joining the senior circuit last fall.
Jim Furyk is adding another trophy to his packed case.
The 51-year-old won his first senior major championship on Sunday, cruising to a comfortable three-shot lead at the 2021 U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club in Nebraska. Furyk entered the round with a cushion and after a final-round 1-over 71 left with the trophy.
Mike Weir and Retief Goosen finished T-2 at 4 under, followed by Rod Pampling in fourth at 3 under. Rounding out the top five were Bernhard Langer and Kevin Sutherland, who tied at 1 under.
Since joining the PGA Tour Champions last year, Furyk now has three wins on the senior circuit after winning his first two starts, the Ally Challenge in August and September’s PURE Insurance Championship via a playoff against Jerry Kelly.
Furyk, one of five past U.S. Open champs in the field (2003 at Olympia Fields), is the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Open. The Pennsylvania native and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, resident racked up 17 wins in his PGA Tour career, including the 2010 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.
The start of the third round was delayed due to storm damage at Omaha Country Club. Then there was a near three-hour delay.
Mother Nature decided to intervene at the 2021 U.S. Senior Open.
The start of Saturday’s third round was delayed because of some storm damage at the Omaha Country Club. Several trees were uprooted and knocked over. Some spectator seating and a TV tower were also brought to the ground by the high winds.
Then, at 1:49 p.m. local time, the U.S. Golf Association blew the horn and suspended play for two hours, 55 minutes.
Just another obstacle for the golfers to navigate as they battle for the fourth senior major of 2021.
Jim Furyk, aiming for his first senior major championship, woke up on Saturday with a two-shot lead over Stephen Ames and a three-shot cushion over Miguel Angel Jimenez. Furyk birdied the 4th and 5th holes and by the time he made the turn, he had a four-shot lead. He closed with birdies on 16 and 18 for a 66 and kept that lead at four shots after 54 holes.
“I’ll take a 66 any day at the U.S. Open,” he said. “I started off real well, kind of got on a roll and then the rain delay. Coming out of the delay, I lost my rhythm, kind of put myself in some awkward spots.”
But he grinded out some pars from those spots and he said that was the real key to his round on Saturday.
Furyk, one of five past U.S. Open champs in the field, is vying to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Senior Open.
Stephen Ames made a birdie putt on 18 from about 10 feet out for a 68 to get him into the final group with Furyk. Ames is at 4 under.
Retief Goosen, also a past U.S. Open champ, made birdies on 17 and 18 to cap of a round of 66 and sits in solo third. “Finishing birdie-birdie on the last two holes was big,” he said, adding that the par he saved on the 16th felt like a birdie.
Steve Flesch had the round of the day, firing a 6-under 64, matching Furyk’s second-round 64 for round of the week. He had just one bogey and seven birdies on his scorecard and is solo fourth.
“U.S. Opens aren’t my thing,” Flesch told Golf Channel after his round. “I don’t drive it that straight, but I just made some putts. If I get the putter going and get the irons close I can run out some birdies.”
Omaha Country Club is hosting the U.S. Senior Open for a second time.
The 2003 U.S. Open champ went bogey free and posted a 64 for the lowest score of the week so far at Omaha Country Club.
After posting four bogeys in his opening round in the U.S. Senior Open, including three straight on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 after starting on the back nine Thursday, Jim Furyk turned it around and went low Friday.
The 2003 U.S. Open champ was bogey-free and posted 6-under 64, the lowest score of the week so far at Omaha Country Club. That followed his opening 72 at the par-70 Omaha Country Club in Nebraska.
His second round vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard at 4 under with several contenders, most noticeably Stephen Ames, still on the course.
“I was real happy with being patient. I didn’t go out there and kind of chase the shots that I lost on 16, 17, and 18,” he said. “I kind of bided my time and shot even par on that second side and kind of was patient. Today things kind of happened for me, but I had kind of an idea what I wanted to kind of do with my golf swing today and the shots I thought were necessary for this course, and it worked out.”
One of five past U.S. Open champs in the field, Furyk is playing in his first Senior Open. He would’ve competed last year but COVID-19 wiped out the event, one of several U.S. Golf Association events canceled in 2020.
Furyk, who won his first two events after joining the PGA Tour Champions in 2020, is seeking his first senior major.
He managed to avoid trouble on the 14th when his ball ended up not in a divot but against a divot. “That’s the first time I can remember that
happened to me in at least ten years,” he said. He saved par on the hole.
On his final hole, he drained a 12-footer for birdie on the 429-yard 18th.
The late additions of Ernie Els and Jim Furyk give the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open field a boost of pizzazz for its return to PGA Tour Champions action.
ENDICOTT, New York – Two late additions give the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open field a boost of pizzazz for its return to PGA Tour Champions action following a dormant year.
Ernie Els and Jim Furyk were among the last to commit to the $2,050,000 event to be contested July 2-4 at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott.
Els, 51 and a 19-time winner on the regular tour, sits third on the money list ($1,792,179) on the strength of two wins among 11 top-10s. Most recent of those top-10s was a T4 in the Regions Tradition that concluded May 9.
Furyk, 51, was a 17-time regular-tour champion. He won in his first two senior starts — The Ally Challenge and PURE Insurance Championship in the summer of 2020 — and has eight top-10s in 13 tournaments.
Jerry Kelly, eight-time senior tour winner at present perched atop the money list ($1,927,667), committed to play in Endicott only to withdraw, as he did in 2019. He shares fifth with Els, Furyk and others on rounds of 69-70 through 36 holes of the Bridgestone Senior Players in Akron, Ohio.
The Dick’s Open field also features:
Doug Barron, defending champion who defeated Fred Couples by two strokes in his second start as a senior.
Alex Cejka, 50-year-old who debuted on Tour in February and proceeded to win major championships in his third and fifth starts.
Darren Clarke, winner in consecutive starts (Nov. 1, Jan. 23) in the 2020-21 season.
Retief Goosen, driving distance leader who sits sixth on the money list.
Tim Herron, a Tour rookie whose first top-10 was a third-place finish in last month’s Principal Charity Classic, in which he was 36-hole leader.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, sixth-place finisher here in 2019 and fifth on the current money list.
Bernhard Langer, age 63, 41-time PGA Tour Champions winner who topped the 2014 Dick’s Open field.
Colin Montgomerie, seven-time Champions Tour winner who has second- and third-place finishes this season. He shared fourth here in 2019.
“We’re obviously excited,” said tournament director John Karedes. “It’s Ernie’s first trip ever to Endicott, Furyk has been here I think three times (most recently for the 1998 B.C. Open). We’re certainly excited to have these 50-year-old rookies coming as well as Darren Clarke, Alex Cejka, Tim Herron. I mean, what a great set of rookies that is going to be joining us.
“I’ve always said, when a guy is a rookie on the PGA Tour we don’t necessarily know who he is. But when a guy is a rookie on our Tour, which is a great thing about the Champions Tour, you know him. And if you look at that list of names, that’s sure proof.”
The 81-player field will be rounded out with Tuesday’s Open Qualifier at The Links at Hiawatha Landing— from which Barron emerged to win last time at En-Joie.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Open
Where: En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott
Purse: $2,050,000 ($307,500 to winner)
Defending champion: Doug Barron
Television: Golf Channel. 12-30-2:30 Fri.; 3-5:30 Sat. and Sun.
Follow Kevin Stevens on Twitter @PSBKevin. You can also reach him at kstevens@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Furyk, 51, returns to Akron for the first time in five years for the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, one of five senior majors.
Jim Furyk can’t believe 20 years have passed since his epic seven-hole playoff with Tiger Woods at Firestone Country Club.
“No. Might feel like 30 … ” Furyk said.
While the loss remains “bittersweet,” Furyk was able to joke about the memory and his advancing age as he shifts his commitment to the PGA Tour Champions.
Furyk, 51, returns to Akron for the first time in five years for the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, one of five senior majors that opens Thursday at Firestone’s famed South Course.
When he arrives at a venue that he played for decades on the PGA Tour, Furyk said he’s usually first struck by his body of work. That will certainly be the case in the Rubber City.
In 17 appearances at Firestone for the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational from 1999-2016, Furyk recorded five top-five finishes and eight top-10s, including his first five tournaments. He finished second twice, to Woods in 2001 and to Keegan Bradley in 2012, took solo third in 2006 and tied for third in 2015.
“Definitely feel like it was a place that I should have won in my career,” Furyk said in a June 9 telephone interview. “I’m definitely a little bit heartbroken because I like the golf course so much and it’s a place I didn’t win.
“Riviera in LA would be a golf course I would say something like that about, Colonial in Fort Worth. Three of my favorite courses and I’ve had very good finishes at all of them. I think I finished second at Colonial a couple times (1998, 2007). Those are the kind of golf courses I’ve loved in my career, but wasn’t able to win at.”
When asked to recall a few Firestone memories, Furyk turned back the clock to the duel with Woods in the 2001 NEC Invitational. The playoff remains CBS’ highest-rated golf broadcast from Firestone. That bested 1988 (Mike Reid beat Tom Watson in a playoff), 1989 (David Frost beat Ben Crenshaw in a playoff), 2005 (Woods won by one shot over Chris DiMarco) and 2000 (Woods’ “Shot in the dark” victory finish).
Jim Nantz, the voice of CBS, wasn’t surprised by the playoff’s ratings distinction.
Jim Furyk walks past a lake to the third green during the second round of the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, in Akron, Ohio.
“Tiger won a lot of the tournaments there in a runaway,” Nantz said in a 2018 Beacon Journal interview as Woods recorded eight victories at Firestone. “People would still watch because it was Tiger. But that was a playoff that lasted seven holes. It was high-stakes drama.”
Remembering the 2001 NEC Invitational playoff with Tiger Woods
The two alternated playing Nos. 17 and 18, and Woods won with a two-foot birdie putt at No. 18, while Furyk sliced his tee shot under a pine tree and made bogey. Furyk, who led or stood tied for the lead after the first three rounds, also missed three birdie putts of 12 feet or less.
“I have great memories of that and also disappointing as well,” Furyk said. “Tiger definitely pulled some magic out a few different times, as I did. But it did have some drama.”
Furyk’s most stunning shot came when he holed out from the sand to save par on the first playoff hole. He failed to get out of the bunker at No. 18 on his third shot, but his fourth rolled straight to the hole, circled the cup 360 degrees, and fell in.
“Holing the bunker shot, that would have been the best shot of the day, that’s the one I remember. I probably don’t remember them all, I’ll have to go back and read [the] articles, I’m over 50 now,” he joked.
Akron provides plenty of memories for Furyk family
Furyk also called the 2012 loss to Bradley “a heartbreaker,” accurately remembering his double bogey at 18. He was beaten by a shot as Bradley sank a 15-foot putt for par.
But when it was pointed out that Furyk led that tournament for 71 holes, he said, “Yes, I’ve got some good memories there.”
This year those will be amplified. Furyk said his daughter Caleigh, 19, a sophomore at Belmont University, and son Tanner, 17, a senior at The Bolles School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., are attending only one to three of his tournaments in 2021 and chose to accompany him and wife Tabitha to Akron.
“They have some great memories from when they were younger,” he said of his children.
Furyk said the family used to bring their dog, stay in Cuyahoga Falls and go on hikes together. They attended Rubber Ducks (then-Akron Aeros) minor league baseball games and ate at their favorite restaurants, later supplemented by recommendations from 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis, who lives in Stow.
Jim Furyk during the second round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
“We went to the drive-in in Ravenna, which they thought was the coolest thing, we don’t have any of those near our home in Florida,” Furyk said. “When they were young, we’d get an SUV and open the hatch and watch a movie. We were all together in middle America, a fun place for families to be.”
The Jim & Tabitha Furyk Foundation hosted its 9th annual Hope for the Holidays event to fill bags of food for needy families. The Furyks — Tanner (from left), Jim, Tabitha and Caleigh — were pleased that the event raised food to feed more than 5,000 Jacksonville area families.
These days are different, but Furyk’s success has continued.
Turning focus to PGA Champions Tour
In 2020, he won his first two events on the Champions Tour, choosing familiar courses where he’d excelled. He captured the Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills (Michigan) and the PURE Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach (California). He’s finished in the top 25 in all 13 Champions Tour events he’s entered in 2020-21, also with a second, a tie for fourth (on June 13 in Madison, Wisconsin) and eight top 10s.
But it wasn’t until May that Furyk decided to commit to the Champions Tour.
“Early in the year we had some events overseas that got canceled on the Champions Tour, so I played two of the three Champions Tour events, but I played mostly on the PGA Tour,” Furyk said. “As soon as May hit, I’ve focused just on the Champions Tour and that’s kind of what I’ll do for the future. I’m happy and comfortable out here. Not that I won’t go play the PGA Tour anymore, but I’m going to play 90% of my golf out here.
“Just kind of felt it was time to turn the page and move out here.”
Furyk has won 17 PGA Tour events, including the 2003 U.S. Open and 2010 Tour Championship, which earned him that year’s FedEx Cup and player of the year honors. He shot the official record for the lowest 18 holes on the PGA Tour, carding a 58 in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship. He played on nine Ryder Cup teams and seven Presidents Cup teams. He served as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2018 loss to Europe at Le Golf National, Paris.
That’s why it took some time for Furyk to come to grips with the decision to play on the 50-and-over circuit, even though he’s seen an influx of friends join him of late.
“I had to get it kind of right in my head that’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “Was it hard? I don’t know. I wanted to make sure I was positive. A couple of my friends turned 50 and they just said ‘Adios,’ never saw them again.
“I probably got six months into it before I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s the right time and I want to turn the page.’”
Furyk said in the future, he will be wise on the courses he chooses.
“I think Torrey Pines is a fine golf course, but it makes no sense for me to go play the event in February there when it’s cold and wet and damp and the course is 7,600 yards long and I’m giving up 40 yards off the tee,” he said. “I’ve got a lot more opportunities out here to compete and put myself in contention more often. Everyone likes to wake up on Sundays with opportunities to win tournaments.”
For a time on the Champions Tour, Furyk said he felt like a rookie because he had to use MapQuest to get to unfamiliar courses. He didn’t know the location of the locker room or the registration area, where to stay or where to eat.
That will not be the case in Akron for Furyk and his family.
When one of the players’ favorites, the Diamond Grille, was mentioned, Furyk said, “Probably still cash, I imagine.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
Adding that to his career on-course earnings total meant that Johnson became the fifth golfer in PGA Tour history to surpass the $70 million mark.
In April at the 2021 RBC Heritage, Johnson posted a T-13 finish to collect $130,995, which raised his career haul to $71,410,770. That moved him past Vijay Singh into the fourth spot.
He’s only played twice since then, including a missed cut at the PGA Championship. But this week, after a tie for 10th at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in his home state of South Carolina, Johnson reached a new money mark.
His weekly earnings of $177,025 brings his career total to $71,605,482, which moves him into third place on the PGA Tour’s all-time money list.
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Tiger Woods tops the list with $120,851,706, with Phil Mickelson second at $94,611,761.
Johnson is third, followed by Jim Furyk at $71,479,894. Singh is fifth at $71,236,216.
Then there’s a drop off to Rory McIlroy, who is sixth all-time with $56,504,137.
The joke, as Jim Furyk likes to tell it, is that everyone is thrilled to be on the PGA Tour Champions. Just thrilled.
The joke, as Jim Furyk likes to tell it, is that everyone is thrilled to be on the PGA Tour Champions. Just thrilled. I mean, who wouldn’t want to know their prime is behind them, right?
“We all just get really excited about getting older and turning 50,” Furyk joked earlier this week. “It’s awesome.”
Snark aside, Furyk and a strong field will be lacing up their spikes on Friday to take part in the Insperity Invitational, a lucrative stop on the PGA Tour Champions at The Woodlands, just north of Houston.
Forget the whole field, just Furyk’s pairing has quite the pedigree. In fact, Furyk, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie — who open their first round on Friday at 11:40 a.m. ET — have amassed a combined 96 titles on the PGA and European Tours.
So the competition should be fierce at Insperity, the first of three straight weeks of PGA Tour Champions action. And while Furyk, Els and most recently, Phil Mickelson, might not be thrilled about moving to the senior circuit, they’re also realistic about their chances.
Scott McCarron poses with the trophy after winning the Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Country Club on May 05, 2019, in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
As reigning champion Scott McCarron said on Wednesday, what once might have been thought of as a step down becomes a wonderfully viable option as players get longer in the tooth, but shorter off the tee.
“You’ve got to remember, almost everyone that played the PGA Tour and was successful played out here. There’s only a couple guys that didn’t and those guys were guys that had a lot of other extracurricular stuff going on. They had businesses and they put their competitive juices into that. But the guys that still want to compete, they all come out here,” said McCarron, who won three times on the PGA Tour but has 11 move victories to his credit since moving to the Champions loop.
“So when I look at the Jordan Spieths and Rickie Fowlers and all these guys that have a long time before they get out here and they all say, ‘Well, I’m not going to play out there.’
“Yeah, you will. Everybody does.”
A total of 11 World Golf Hall of Famers will be on hand this week, with Els and Montgomerie being joined by Retief Goosen, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Sandy Lyle, Mark O’Meara, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, and Ian Woosnam.
And while Furyk might joke about not being ecstatic about meeting the age threshold, he’s certainly thankful for the comforts the tour brings. And the purse — at over $2.2 million, or nearly $700K more than last week’s at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Florida — doesn’t hurt to bring up the group’s spirits.
“I enjoy being out here. I enjoy the carts, I enjoy as far as the practice rounds, carts in the pro-ams, only three-round events. It’s more much a track meet. It’s not a marathon out here, it’s a track meet. You’ve got to get out there and make some birdies and shoot some low scores,” Furyk said. “I get to see some friends that I wasn’t seeing for, say, the last five to 10 years. There’s this misconception, and I talked to some of the younger players on Tour, that everyone’s out having a beer and a glass of wine, no one’s practicing. It’s not really quite that way. Guys are shooting 15, 16 under every week.
“The range is usually packed and full of guys working on their games and working hard, and you’re seeing that even though we’re 50 and over, there’s a lot of guys that are really competitive and playing some great golf.”
